Keying pin holder for laundry marking



June 29, 1943. w. H. HEWITT 2 2,323,220

KEYING PIN HOLDER FOR LAUNDRY MARKING Filed Aug. 13, 1941 I l5 A5- vl 6 0L 0 O O O Q Q n r. E6 @llmm: 0

INVENTOR W/AL/AM M fla /7r v K/vmzw A-T'I'CRNEY Patented June 29, 1943 KEYING PIN HOLDER FOR LAUNDRY MARKING William H. Hewitt, Chicago, Ill., assignor to G. A. Braun, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application August 13, 1941, Serial No. 406,641

3 Claims.

This invention relates to receptacles for the holding of markingor identification devices such as numbered safety pins, and more particularly appertains to a keying pin holder for laundry marking for use in laundries andthe like as a .means 'for receiving and keeping in place the ing track of a customers numerous laundry work pieces, which have been classified and 'become separated for laundry processing, is to 'use a plurality of safety pins bearing the same or like identifying character or laundry-marking number assigned to that customers numerous pieces of work. When all pins of the same identifying number are found to have been returned to their placein the holder, the operator knows that all work pieces are ready for bundling and-return to that customer. It is important that the plurality of marking pins and their places in'the holderreveal anaccurate pin' count and'hence an accurate work count, it being the duty of the operator to count the plurality of pins returned to said holder in order that she may know as a matter'of fact that a particular customer's work is at hand and complete.

There is in usea simple pin holding device, known generallylas a tray, wherein the plurality of marking pins are retained in visible rows in multiples say of five, or other multiple number easy to count. Thus the tray has the advantage of making the pin count visible or automatically countable by inspection. However, this tray has no pin testing means by which to compel theoperator to key or conform the pin number and-tray number; thus the tray has this disadvantage. Also; there is in use a rack type keying post pin holder which does provide a positive means compelling the operator to replace the pins on the right holder, but it does not mount and show the pins in rows of given numbar as in multiples of fiv'e' or ten or any othereasy number to facilitate automatic count by inspection.

l The old pin tray nowin use does not provide a means to prevent the operator from replacing,in

a 'particulartray of given identifying number,-a

safety pin of the same identifying number. Such a lack in number checkingmeans for the pin tray in question ofttimes lead's'to'error, in that no means is provided such as a tell-tale against the carelessness of an-operator in his or her failure to visibly inspect and check the pin number against the tray number and see that both conform and are of the same number before replacing the pin.

These conventional visible count pin trays vary as to the number of pins they hold. Pin trays of this type are available from the manufacturer thereof as ten-place, fifteen-place, twenty and thirty-place etc. pin receptacles. The ten-place tray has two rows of five pins, the fifteen-place tray has three rows of five pins, and so on. An operator becomes'accustomed to visibly count ing either the missing pins or the pins in place by noting how many pin places are empty or by noting how many pins are present. An operator who may have selected a ten-place tray for a; small laundry assignment of few pieces, and having performed the operation of what is called pinning out the work and having two pins left in the tray, knows that the customer has only eight pieces of work in process. When these eight pieces of work come back from the washers, extractors, ironers, repairers, etc., the pin and work count conform, but if say one pin is missing, due to one empty place being left in the.

tray, the operator must seek out the one pin and the work piece carrying that pin, and when found she then has the customer's work complete and intact.

For example, an operator handling a considerable number of old pin trays, one for each customer, may not use care in restoring the numbered pins to the right tray. She may in the press of work (realizing as she does that the tray and pin system she is using does not provide a tell-tale against her) place a number 35 pin in a number 36 or 3'7 or other numbered tray, instead of replacing the 35 pin in a 35 tray. This fault leads to errors because the present pin trays have no tell-tale means, by which the operator is mentally restrained from carelessness,

and by which the laundry superintendent can trace back and ascertain the origin of the care- According to conventional practice as heretofore explained, each device now in use (the tray type and the keying post type of marking pin holder) has its advantages but lacks a desirable feature. In quest of ways and means to cure the fault of presently used marking systems, without upsettingthe routine to which the laundry operator is accustomed, it is found that, and this invention has todo with; the addition of a pin testing means to the visible count pin tray,

with the result that the errors heretofore ascribable to both are now eliminated, and the advantages of each are preserved, by reason of the telltale means this invention provides and its psychological effect on the operator.

An object of this invention is to produce a visible count safety pin holder identified by a number or letter character, for retaining in place a plurality of pins bearing the same marking or identifying number or character as the pin holder, in combination with a pin testing or keying means on the pin holder, by which psychology is practiced on the laundry operator and she is less likely to replace a wrong pin in the holder, thereby making the pin count and the work count accurate andfool-proof, more so than is now possible with the particular identification system which this in- Vention seeks to improve.

Thus, it is a purpose of this invention to improve on the type of pin tray laundry-marking equipment here in question by providing a telltale means which willsubsequently reveal to the laundry superintendent that th .operator who previously returned a particular pin to its tray did'not firstcheck and conform the pin number to the tray number, before returning said pin thereto.

A further object is to produce a numbered safety pin holder, say in the. form of a tray dc,

vice, having a pin keying-number testing means 0 required to be used by an operator in order that the pins be replaced after use in the right tray showing thesame identifying number as said p1ns.

It is a further object to provide pin-number testing means on a pin holder in order to impose upon the operator the realization that a means is available to the laundry superintendent for subsequently ascertaining that she did not accurately compare a pin and tray number when i previously returning the pin to itsplace.

The accompanying drawing shows an example, in approximate commercial size or scale, of a b e-c u t ten-pla e o e -inn t a w th. a pin keying tester means embodied therein in a new Way, thus producing a new combination, wherein: a

Fi ure shows a front ew of t p n tray equipped with the number testing keying means ns it in h new comb na io T e ay i filled with its complement of twov rows of five p n maki atot f ten p s.

F ure 2. h ws a an ewc ensw t ay with all pins omitted, thus showing the ten slots or places (two, rows of five) for receiving the safety pins. 7

-li'igure ,3 is a sectional View along the line 3-3 of Figure 2, with four pin places vacant, and showing the pin testing means in section.

. Figure is an enlarged plan view of a fragment of. the tray showing a-pin being tested on the pin testing posts preliminary to placing the pin in the ray- A h u er t et 1 i hold r m c stitute an element of this new combination, there is shown what'is known as a tray type pinholder comprising a flat horizontal plate-like member |0.-. Legs I! support the tray H3- ata height suitable for safety pins to rest vertically in the tray. These small pin trays Hi; set on a table or shelf and can be stacked up in tiers or nested togethe one on top of another, to save space-on the work table or shelf. For thislatter purpose, the top surface 'of the trayv in may have: a boss or lug at each of the four, corners, as shown, to center and steady the stack of trays. The inside of the legs H are rounded in form, likewise the outer surface of the bosses, so that when a plurality of trays are stacked vertically the legs embrace the bosses. These corner bosses are omitted from Figure 3 for clarity.

These trays resemble a small stand or table, and they are carried about the laundry by an operator in the course of her work. The safety marking pins are arranged in rows for easy count by mere inspection of the tray, the pin places customarily being formed in multiples of five in a row for easy counting. The tray shown herein is the smallest pin complement tray in general use,

"the largest practical tray being a seven-row tray.

The horizontal tray surface In is molded or formed with rows of slot places or apertures I2 to receive its full complement of a plurality of safety pins l4 inserted point down through the tray holes or slots.

The safety pins need not beclosed when inserted in the receiving place slots l2, but by holdin t e in b t eeny ur t mb and forefin r he ,flezg ble n-sh nk s dep towa d ar and he pin as ly dr s into pla whe eupon the pin shanks l4 expand (Fig- 3) and grip against the slot [Z to hold them in the tray, This leaves the pin head or disk IS in visibleposition above the tray II] for quick inspection of its identifying number or character 35 or whatever the pin and tray number may be. The tray shown in the drawing happens to be a ten-place tray identified by the number '35, and conse-.' quently its complement orsupply of identification pins are also numbered 35. The tray has its identifying number 35 painted on the front surface, andthe ,pin disks are die stamped with their identifying number 35 to match the tray.

A commercial laundry using this type of marking system may have dozens or more of these pin trays; one is needed for each customers work. The laundry may have many tin-pin trays for small customer service and alsomany twenty and thirty pin-trays for larger customer work, that is, a supply of pin trays. In the press of work, it is not uncommon to find a pin in the Wrong tray.

The pin tester herein disclosed, in the form of a keying means combined with the tray in accordance with this invention, contributes to accuracy by reason of the double check it provides, or by reason of the psychology the device has on the laundry operator, or due toboth thereof. The invention really acts as a means compelling the operator to check her pinnumber against the tray number to see that they conform. If she does that, she may omit the pin test, but if an error occurs and the laundry superintendent finds a pin of wring number in a tray, it is proof against the operator that she. not only failed to compare the pin and tray numbers but likewise did not try the pin on its testing means to confirm the pin and tray number. I

There are provided, in thepresent example ofthe invention, four parallel posts l6 which are half-round in cross section, these posts, being concentrically arranged in vertical parallel position. The lower ends of this series of posts lfiarean chored to the tray and have their upper ends free as a pin-testing means. In the, manufac-,

ture of these keying-pin trays in quantities, it is found better to produce the keying post means IB in its separate assembly solder block l1, and then rigidly fix the block to the tray. block I! may be mounted i n acut-out I8 formed in the tray margin forward ofthe front The post row of pins l4, and the block is riveted in place, or screw fastened as shown, or otherwise secured to the tray,

The four half-round keying posts l6 conform and match in perfect registry with the four halfround perforations Ilia formed in the pin disks of the complement 35 of pins produced for the particular tray number 35. Four keying posts l6 and four keying perforations l6a are shown, since this is the way the devices are produced for the trade. The manufacturer has his production method of key-formula permutation in matched tray and pin seats by which, in the use of four posts, he is able to produce trays with complements of pins therefor, of fixed and predetermined keying combination, on a production or quantity basis, the keying combination being different for each tray and pin set. Thus not only within the same laundry, but within every laundry of the trade using this device in the I country, may be found matched trays and pin sets, the pins of which will only fit the tray to which the pins are keyed by number and permutation of the post means IS. The manufacturer can produce an infinite number of pin keying combinations fromrhis control chart by progressive orientation of the individual posts iii, the flat side of each half-round post being the factor which prevents registry of unmatched trays and pins.

In the use of this new pin holder, the laundry operator pins out the work in the same manner she has been accustomed to in heretofore using the old type tray without the new pin number testing means it. begins to come back as separate pieces she pins it in by detaching the marking pins l4 therefrom and replaces them in the pin receiving slots I2, the only difference herein over the old practice being that now there is a tell-tale device operative against her carelessness. If she does not want to go to the trouble of testing each pin disk H: on the keying post means l6 (Figure 4), then she will make certain to carefully compare the pin number 35 to the tray number 35 (or whatever tray and pin number represents the laundry job at hand) so as to replace the pin in the right tray. If she does not do so, it simply means to the laundry superintendent (in event an error subsequently arises) that the operator actually did not apply the pin to the testing posts. If she had done so no pin, other than number 35, could have been placed in tray number 35. Knowing this in advance, the operator will take the trouble to make certain to conform her pin and tray numbers.

It is pointed out that the more expert and careful is the operator, in the pinning out and the unpinning in of the work, the less he or she will find need to key test the pins on the posts It,

to prove or disprove accuracy, before replacing them in the tray places l2. However, the test posts l6 and the pin keying perforations l5a conforming thereto are useful even to expert and scrupulous operators, due to the fact that occasionally the tray or pin number may be old or worn and hence slightly dim, or the light may not be on the devices, or the operator may not be wearing her spectacles, in event of which it is When the laundered work quick and handy to test the pin on the tray posts (Figure 4) to make sure that the pin is the right one for the tray. The device renders accurate the disassembly and the reassembly of scattered work pieces.

This invention is presented to fill a need for a useful keying pin holder for laundry marking. It is understood that various modifications in construction, operation, use and method, may and often do occur to those skilled in the art, especially after benefiting from the teachings of an invention, and that thi disclosure is exemplary of the principles but not limited to the present embodiment of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pin tray having a plurality of slot receptacles to receive and hold one numbered pin in each slot, wherein each numbered pin has identical keying perforation means to relate it.

to its tray, a means for insuring againstplacing a pin in the wrong tray, comprising a single keying post means of short length carried by the tray, which keying post means is matched identically with the keying perforation means of the pins belonging to that tray, whereby an operator tests one in at a time by placing its perforation means on the post means before inserting said pin into a slot receptacle of the tray, an assembly block in which the short length post means have their lower ends anchored in the tray, with their upper ends remaining free to be received into the perforation means for making the test aforesaid, and said assembly block being fixed on the tray.

2. A testing means for a pin holding tray of the type having rows of slots into each of which a work-marking pin is placed and wherein each pin belonging to said tray has keying perforations formed in a disk carried on the pin; comprising posts which conform in cross-section to the keying perforations, an assembly block carried by the tray and into which are anchored the lower ends of the posts thereby fixing said posts in upright position and leaving their upper ends free to receive the keyin perforations, and the posts being relatively short by which to afford room for one pin disk at a time to be tested thereon preliminary to placing said pin in a slot of the tray.

3. In a pin tray having rows of readily countable places for the reception of a plurality of work-marking devices which are provided with identical keying means for that particular tray, wherein one marking device fits into each place and the plurality of marking devices have the same identifying character as the tray, means for testing each work-marking device, comprising a single testing means carried on the front side of the tray and which corresponds to the keying means of the work-marking devices, by which an operator tries out each marking device by first manually applying it to said testing means, to confirm the fact independently of observing the identifying characters that the marking device belongs to that particular tray, and removing the marking device from the testing means and inserting said marking device into one of the places in the tray, to leave said testing means free for testing the next marking device.

WILLIAM H. HEWITT. 

